I didn’t think much about it… going to West End UMC with Gavin to listen to N.T. Wright. To tell you the truth… I wasn’t even quite sure who he was. It was hanging out with Thunder and Emily afterwards that got me there. It was just a means to an end. A pleasant surprise.

Surprised by Hope to me is a deep, thought provoking, prayerful title in itself. There are many times in life that I could describe as being surprised by hope. In 2001, my graduation present from college was a trip with Habitat for Humanity Global Village to Zambia, Africa. I met many wonderful, wonderful Christian people during my visit in the village of Koama… I was surprised by their hope. A hope for a better life… a hope for a better tomorrow. They were lacking in clean water, they were lacking in fair wages for teachers, they were lacking in adequate health care… but they were not lacking in faith, hope or community.

As Christians in the western world- rich and drowning in material possessions. Do we really understand the word hope? Sometimes I believe we do… and sometime I don’t think we have a clue.

N.T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope addresses two questions. “First, what is the utilimate Christian hope? Second, what hope is there for change, rescue, transformation, new possibilities within the world in the present?” (Wright, Surprised by Hope, p. 5)

I walked away from the lecture on Tuesday with a renewed hope in today… not just a hope for tomorrow. A renewed sense that God is actively, powerfully, creatively loving the world into a new creation now… and as you and I participate in this kingdom building we sometimes are lucky enough to see but a glimpse of true, eternal healing and love. A glimpse of the new world that will be revealed.